More than 1 million children lost access to food benefits after Trump bill passed

More than a million children across the US have lost access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) food benefits since Congress approved the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).

The analysis found that more than 4 millions Americans were removed from Snap from July 2025 to March 2026, marking a significant decline in participation in the federal food assistance program.

Arizona recorded the largest drop in enrollment after the bill became law. The legislation tightened eligibility rules for food assistance and increased state screening requirements. State data through May shows that more than 450,000 Arizonans have come off Snap, cutting overall participation within the state in half.

According to the CBPP analysis, children make up a significant portion of those losing benefits, with more than 1 million children across the 19 states studied no longer receiving Snap assistance.

In Louisiana, nearly one in four children receiving Snap benefits lost assistance. Massachusetts and Texas each saw close to one-fifth of children enrolled in the program removed from Snap.

The report comes as participation in the program continues to fall nationwide following major reductions to the federal food assistance program under the Trump administration.

Snap, commonly referred to as food stamps, provides monthly benefits to low-income and no-income households to help pay for groceries and remains the country’s largest food assistance program.

The report says the steep decline in participation is likely tied in large part to the 2025 Republican reconciliation law, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which shifted a substantial share of Snap benefit costs to states based on their payment error rates.

The CBPP warned that the situation would continue to deteriorate unless Congress intervenes. “Without immediate congressional action to delay this cost shift for all states, the unfolding emergency will only worsen as more children are cut off from the food assistance their families need to afford nutritious food,” the CBPP said.

Representative Ilhan Omar, a progressive Democrat from Minnesota, pointed to the outcomes during a speech on the House floor earlier this month. Omar had introduced an amendment aimed at reversing the Snap cuts, but the proposal was rejected by the Republican majority.

The latest figures also prompted action from the US Conference of Mayors. On Monday, the nonpartisan organization representing cities with populations of at least 30,000 sent a letter to the Senate signed by more than 200 mayors calling for lawmakers to reverse the Snap cuts amid the US’s “deepening food security crisis”.

“Snap remains the nation’s most effective and efficient anti-hunger program. It reduces poverty, supports local economies, and provides an automatic stabilizer during economic downturns,” the letter said. “Hunger is not a partisan issue, and efforts to address food insecurity should rise above political divisions.”